Ron P. Whittington for Shorelines General manager Benjamin Kingsbury and event and banquet coordinator Kelli Bermel, who were recruited from other Beaches restaurants to launch KC Crave two years ago, are now promoting a Jacksonville Beach-centric vibe to "eat, drink and be social" at the restaurant's new incarnation as Jaxon Social.

Ron P. Whittington for Shorelines Patrons enjoy the official opening of Jaxon Social in late April. The location on Beach Boulevard is well-known to residents as the long-time Giovanni's fine dining restaurant and, most recently as KC Crave, before the owners decided to give it a more Jacksonville Beach-centric vibe.

Ron P. Whittington for Shorelines Well-known to long-time Beaches residents as the former site of Giovanni's, the location on Beach Boulevard made its transition from KC Crave to Jaxon Social in late April - with a definite focus on local flavor, one-of-a-kind cocktails and new menu items to fit its Jacksonville Beach identity.

General manager Benjamin Kingsbury‘s energy is infectious as he talks about the changing of his restaurant’s name to Jaxon Social, and the importance of “keeping it local” in Jacksonville Beach.

“We are a local spot that comes from the people who live out here and care about our community,” he said. “When I wake up in the morning, I have a passion for this place ... and so do the people who work here. It’s not just a job. We’re promoting Jaxon Social as a place to ‘eat, drink and be social.’ That really defines what we are, and that’s what we want people to do and enjoy when they come here.”

The signage at the Beach Boulevard restaurant that once read “KC Crave” changed in late April, along with some “tweaking” of the menu, but the staff has stayed the same. The focus now is on supporting and reflecting the lifestyle at Jacksonville Beach.

Kingsbury, who started with KC Crave when it opened in August 2012, said the location was actually selected for its historical significance to the beach.

“Specifically, it was because, as Giovanni’s, it was really well-known among Beaches residents and had already built a reputation as an awesome restaurant,” said Kingsbury. “When the building became available, we were on it.”

Kingsbury, now 34, was 19 when he moved from Massachusetts to Tallahassee to attend college at Florida State University and got a job as a server and bartender at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. From there, he helped open a new Bonefish Grill restaurant before moving to the chain’s Jacksonville Beach location in 2007, where he worked as a bartender.

“Tallahassee was great, but I figured, ‘I live in Florida. Why is a guy from the northeast living in a landlocked city in Florida?’” he said.

It was two years ago when Chris Jones, the proprietor at the Jacksonville Beach Bonefish, wanted to start his own restaurant and recruited Kingsbury, along with Kelli Bermel from Stonewood Grill & Tavern’s former site at Marsh Landing. Bermel, a bartender at Stonewood for six years who had also worked a stint as an account representative at the public relations firm of St. John & Partners, came on as a bartender, along with several other locals from Stonewood and other Beaches establishments.

KC Crave caught on with area residents fairly quickly, along with the restaurant’s concept.

“Just after KC opened, a couple of people who lived at Queen’s Harbour came in to eat and really loved what we had done,” Kingsbury said. “They owned a building in Gainesville and bought into our concept and we opened another KC Crave there in May of last year.”

Kingsbury helped them open the new location, but soon decided to give the Jacksonville Beach spot more of a “local feel,” while the investors in Gainesville wanted to transition from the original name and concept.

The Gainesville investors are still there, but they are changing the name of the restaurant and moving on, and so are Kingsbury and the team at Jaxon Social.

“We decided we wanted to have a name that meant a little more to us in the Jacksonville area,” he said. “Everyone here calls it Jax Beach with an ‘x,’ and the word ‘social’ really speaks to what we are. I can name nearly every person who is in the bar right now by their first name. We have a very local crowd here and some really personal relationships with all the folks who visit us, so we kind of took off and ran with it.”

Mixologist Carissa Quigg, one of the originals who served with Kingsbury as a co-bartender, is still on staff. Quigg and Kingsbury created many of the specialty drinks at the bar today, and Quigg has continued to expand on their creations.

“Carissa is not only a good mixologist, but she has a green thumb for our outdoor plantings and she’s a great cook, as well,” he said. “She’s been able to introduce rosemary, basil and mint into our drinks, too. She’s an artist.”

The team focused on unique drinks specific to its location — offering 10 special infusion drinks featuring, among other things, banana-infused bourbon, jalapeño and pineapple-infused vodka, and cucumber-infused vodka. Jaxon Social features two pages of homemade infused libations that can’t be purchased anywhere else.

On the menu, Kingsbury said they went back to their roots.

“We created a couple of new street fare items, lighter items available during happy hour,” he said. “In general, we kept our main food items but upgraded — we tweaked them a little bit, added some different sides, and gave them our own personal feel.”

Executive Chef Matt Kemper, who originally joined the group as a sous chef, helped to create many of the dishes on the menu today. While Jaxon Social has a menu, Kingsbury said that Kemper and his team can modify any items when desired or needed.

“One of the benefits of being a small business is that we don’t always have to serve only what’s on the menu,” he said. “For example, if you’re a vegetarian and want to put a couple of food items together, our guys can do it. We can cater our menu to anyone’s taste.”

Jaxon Social hosts a Sunday Brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring specialty happy hour drinks from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and serves dinner until 9 p.m. It is open from 4 to 10 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and from 4 to 11 p.m. — and as late as 1 a.m. — Wednesday through Saturday, depending on the night’s activity. It offers a happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. each day — and a late night happy hour and food from 11 a.m. until closing.

Including its downstairs restaurant, upstairs tap room and outside patio area, Jaxon Social has total seating for about 150 people.

“At the tap room upstairs, we can handle about 50 people, and we host birthday parties, rehearsal dinners, baby showers and bridal showers,” said Bermel, who started as a bartender and now also serves as banquet coordinator and event planner at Jaxon Social. “Our biggest single private party was for about 85 people during a mixer on our patio, but we’ve had over a hundred come in for a couple of nonprofit benefits we’ve hosted.”

Kingsbury said the restaurant has given back to the community since it opened — not only hosting nonprofit events, but also by relying on local suppliers for food and beverages. Jaxon Social sources all of its food locally, and all its draft beers are from local breweries including Bold City Brewery, Green Room Brewing and Engine 15 Brewing Company.

“We take a lot of pride in keeping it local and keeping our economy stimulated that way, instead of just giving it to the big boys and padding their pockets,” he said. “All of us have worked as servers, bartenders and line cooks in other restaurants, and now we’re putting it all together and doing our own thing. It’s real exciting for us.”